Customer Reviews

The Business of Changing Lives: How One Company Took the Information Superhighway to the Inner City

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In The Business of Changing Lives Allan Weis explains his and Advanced Network and Services' (ANS - his company's) role using technology, philanthropy, and innovative business practices to lay the foundation of the Internet, build a large-scale technology learning platform, and seed and mentor high-impact charities.

In the book, Weis weaves together four distinct, yet interconnected stories. The first is a technology narrative, about the rise of the world wide web and ANS' contributions to building the Internet. The second is an educational story, largely about the development of ThinkQuest - an online learning platform that has led to the creation of interactive educational resources for the Internet, and has trained tens of thousands of young students in web site development, teamwork, and management skills. The third story is of philanthropy, where Weis tells about ANS and its board's role in funding, mentoring, and providing strategic and technical guidance to a select group of charities and social entrepreneurs. The last story - which is woven through the entire book - is about business; Weis writes about the innovative practices employed by ANS and the ventures he describes to create lasting technological and charitable impacts.

All four of these threads are effective, and - while each could make for a book of their own - Weis boils them down to a fun, engaging book which mixes hard facts and numbers with anecdotal stories from ANS and the charitable programs. He is at his best, and his most passionate, telling the story of ThinkQuest, which combines all four narratives into an inspiring tale about an ambitious, far-reaching, and fun new platform in education and technology. (Perhaps in the second edition, the publisher could include an index with the URLs of many of the projects described in this section.)

The fourth story in The Business of Changing Lives - that of building a new business paradigm - occassionally leaves you wanting more. Weis tells of a number of new practices and philosophies that led to innovation among and cooperation between non-profit, academic, government, and private partners. There are lessons to be learned, but in contrast to the other sections, these stories are more often told than shown.

(Additionally, Weis makes clear that the philanthropic leanings and tendencies of ANS' leadership - their proclivities to "give back" - drove the business and charitable actions of the company, and that the business was the enabler of these activities but not the driver. This is an important distinction - and while admirable, poses an obstacle for replicating this type of large-scale and high-impact charitable activity.)

Altogether, The Business of Changing Lives is inspirational, engaging, and thought-provoking. It's a quick, fun read that opens your eyes to some important educational and technological stories and about the big impact that a relatively small institution could have.

Amidst the daily barrage of selfishness in the news, reading this book was a breath of fresh air and inspiring actions by Allan Weis and his colleagues and the many, many young participants worldwide. Weis provides an inside look at the fascinating evolution of the internet both on a technical level and a sociological or business level. His many specific examples and illustrative sidebars give substance to the story. Weis' company took the unusual approach of trying to use all its money to do good with the objective of having no money but a meaningful legacy at the end. I found this both an easy and compelling read.

This is a fascinating book about the early days of the Internet, education and giving what you have before you leave this world. I like the little stories that make the book a quick read and fun. The part about the Internet was understandable even for a novice like me, and I took away a few tips on how to make my donations count.

With the current negative business climate, this is an amazing story of technology and social impact, created by successful retired business executives who's motivation was not profit for themselves, but profit for society, making the Internet what it is today and plowing the profits into our technological future... our children. Great easy and inspirational read.

Mr. Weis has provided a fascinating and personal view into a process that revolutionized how the world communicates and connects. He also injects humor, frustration and modesty which helps make this a very human tale. Even though I knew the eventual outcome, I found myself rooting for the "mice against the elephants". How fortunate for us that these brilliant individuals understood the scope and significance of their work. From a business perspective, ANS used an interesting model of establishing itself as a nonprofit in order to have the freedom to create and change direction as needed. Not only did this prove successful in creating today's internet, millions of others benefited from the philanthropic use of the financial gain later on.

I think this success story is yet another classic American tale of ingenuity and hard work. And then for these generous geniuses to become social entrepreneurs and GIVE IT ALL AWAY again speaks to something in which the U.S. is a world leader -- helping others through philanthropy. ANS certainly serves as a model to the world in more ways than one.